Arizona passes law requiring students to pass civics test

PHOENIX (AP) – Arizona’s new Republican governor has signed a bill making the state the first in the nation to require high school students to pass the U.S. citizenship test on civics before graduation.

Thursday night’s signing by Gov. Doug Ducey came after swift action by the Arizona Legislature to pass the bill he had requested. It came on the fourth day of the 2015 legislative session, and states around the country are taking up similar measures.

The law requires high school students to correctly answer 60 of 100 questions on the civics portion of the citizenship test. The test is being pushed nationally by the Scottsdale-based Joe Foss Institute, which wants all 50 states to adopt it by 2017.

The institute says legislatures in 15 states are expected to consider it this year.